Egypt’s Mubarak still jailed despite release order

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A court ordered Hosni Mubarak to be freed before his retrial over the killing of protesters.

Associated Press
April 16, 2013

CAIRO — Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s deposed president, will remain in custody on new corruption charges, despite a court order to release him before his retrial over the killing of protesters in the uprising against him, Egypt’s state news agency said Monday.

The order by the Cairo Criminal Court followed Mubarak’s request to be released after two years in detention without a final verdict.

The court said Mubarak could be released on bail if he is not wanted for any other court cases.

Prosecutors then pointed out that Mubarak has three other cases pending, and he will be held on the basis of those charges despite Monday’s decision.

The 84-year-old Mubarak has been in detention since 2011 for trial in the main case against him — charged with responsibility in the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the uprising.

Most of those were killed in the early days of the revolt that started on Jan. 25 and ended with his stepping down on Feb. 11.

Mubarak was taken into custody in April 2011. He was the first Arab leader to appear in a defendant’s cage, on trial by his own people. On June 2 2012, he received a life sentence for failing to stop the killings. Then he won an appeal in January this year, canceling the sentence on grounds of shoddy procedures. A retrial was ordered.

The new trial convened Saturday, but the judge recused himself, forcing a delay. A new date and a new panel of judges have yet to be determined.

Prosecutor spokesman Mahmoud el-Hefny told the state news agency that Mubarak will remain in custody during investigation into three corruption cases.